Subtle Negotiations
by sunnycalendargirl
Summary: Excerpt from Ex umbra in solem. KHRfest Round III. Day III. 70. Tsuna – struggle; "When will my reflection show who I am inside?" Reborn helps Tsuna with his first real suit.


**A/N:** All of my stories for the KHRfest are going to be excerpts from either **Vivi memor leti** or **Ex umbra in solem**. So they're kind of 'behind the scenes' pieces that may or may not eventually make their way into the published story, but were fun to write. This particular piece is focuses on Reborn, Tsuna and Tsuna's first real suit. Enjoy!

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Standing in front of the full-length mirror, Tsuna frowned at his reflection. It was bad enough that he'd had to endure almost an hour's worth of fittings with a man that Reborn swore was a tailor and Tsuna swore was a giant pervert with hands that roamed in ways that left him feeling violated and slightly embarrassed. To go through that, however, and still feel like a child in an adult's suit left him pissed off and slightly ashamed, all at once.

When warm arms slid around him and a chin came to rest on the top of his head it didn't help matters, although he did find himself leaning back against the warm body pressing against him from behind. It wasn't Reborn's fault, after all, that Tsuna felt underdeveloped and immature in this ridiculous suit. He supposed Reborn could help by being a little shorter now that he was back to his full height, but that was a bit unfair to expect.

"I look like an idiot, Reborn," Tsuna told him, tilting his head up slightly to try to see him without looking in the mirror and catching only the brim of his hat and Leon's face peering down at him from the edge. "I look like I'm running around in my father's suit, and that pisses me off even more, because the idea of wearing anything he wore gives me the creeps."

"I think it looks good on you," Reborn replied, arms tightening slightly before letting him go. "Every boss needs a good suit, Tsuna. You're going to have to learn to be comfortable in it, just like you've learned to be comfortable with the rest of the job."

Tsuna didn't see whatever it was Reborn saw and finally moved away from the mirror, shrugging out of the suit jacket and flopping down onto the bed, not concerned about things like wrinkling. It didn't matter that they were in Venice now, or that his guardians were unpacking in their suites in the castle that sat at the center of the Vongola estates. What mattered is that he looked like a child in his suit and he had to face down heads of other mafia families in the morning.

"Tsuna, you'll never feel comfortable in it if you let the suit wear you," Reborn told him, sitting by his side on the bed and reaching out to catch his hand, tangling their fingers together. "The suit is just a tool, just like your ring or your gloves. The power and strength in them comes from inside of you, not the objects themselves."

"Why do I feel like such a child in it then?" Tsuna asked, rolling onto his side to face him, fingers squeezing his gently. "I feel like I'm fifteen all over again, Reborn. I feel weak, helpless and unable to make a decision. I haven't felt like that in years."

"And you shouldn't feel like that, Tsuna," Reborn scolded him gently, leaning in to drop a kiss on his lips, his voice reassuring and reprimanding all at once, "because that isn't you. The suit is another weapon in your arsenal, one that you need to use well to protect your Family."

Looking at him thoughtfully for a long moment, Tsuna finally nodded and stood again, snagging the jacket and pulling it back on before moving to stand in front of the mirror again. Reborn was right, and he knew it. As much as he hated the way he felt in the suit, he would have to adapt.

"For the Family, hmm?" Sighing, he nodded his acceptance of his reflection, realizing that his awareness of the need for the suit had given him an older, wearier face, one that fit the suit better than his normal expression.

"For the Family," Reborn replied, before slipping the jacket off of him and returning it to the hanger. "We all make sacrifices to keep each other safe."

"I suppose you're right." Tsuna loosened the tie and handed it to him before shrugging out of the shirt as well. Reborn had won this fight and Tsuna was smart enough to realize it. "They'd damned well better appreciate my wearing this for them, though, or I'm going to send them all out for extra training sessions with you."

Reborn simply laughed as he hung the rest of the clothing up and tucked the suit away in their closet for now. Tsuna knew that he'd somehow managed to please Reborn with his response in the end, although the other man would never say it. It was one of the many, many things he loved about Reborn. Tsuna might be the boss of the Family, but Reborn was both the wisest and the most dangerous weapon in his arsenal and deadly loyal to Tsuna.

So if it made Reborn happy, he'd suffer the suit to satisfy him, no matter how ridiculous it felt. It wouldn't do to disappoint him, after all, not with all of these meetings coming up. Once he had his feet under him properly in the mafia world, he and Reborn would renegotiate this whole suit idea. No matter how cute Reborn thought Tsuna was in one, they were uncomfortable and rubbed in all the wrong places. He'd put up with it until he could find a negotiable alternative, and then start the battle all over again.


End file.
